It is estimated that the fishing industry hauls about ten billion pounds of fish, one of the most perishable of all foods, annually in the United States. Ideally, fish should be maintained in a temperature range between 30 and 32 degrees F. The shelf life of fresh fish is shortened about one day for each day it is stored at a temperature of 34 degrees F. For every ten degree increase over 32 degrees F., the shelf life is cut in half.
Recent studies indicate that the atmosphere is being so severely damaged by Freon and other chloroflurocarbons (CFCs) that their use as refrigerants is being discouraged by governments worldwide. A dire need exists for a refrigeration system which uses a non-polluting refrigerant.
Some refrigeration systems spray liquid carbon dioxide or liquid nitrogen into the cargo compartment. However, the compartment must be evacuated and filled with air before humans can safely enter the compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,212 to Patrick S. Martin et al discloses a refrigeration system which utilizes liquified cryogenic gas such as liquid nitrogen or liquid carbon dioxide to control temperature in a cargo compartment in a transport vehicle. Difficulty has been encountered in systems using liquid carbon dioxide as the refrigerant because the temperature in the cargo compartment could not be maintained below approximately 30.degree. Fahrenheit. The carbon dioxide solidified forming dry ice in the system, which required frequent defrosting. Thus, it did not have a commercially acceptable subfreezing capability.
Refrigerated transport vehicles for frozen foods such as fish, meat and ice cream must maintain a cargo compartment temperature below freezing.
Several patents disclose a back-pressure regulator in a liquid CO.sub.2 system between an evaporator and a gas driven motor of the type disclosed in Martin et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,212 in an effort to prevent the formation of dry ice in the system by maintaining an operating pressure of 65 psig or higher.
Tyree U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,972 discloses improvements in Martin et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,212 including a temperature sensor and a back-pressure regulator installed in an effort to maintain a minimum pressure of, for example, 80 psia to prevent the formation of C0.sub.2 snow which could result in blockage or at least a reduced level of operation of the refrigeration system. Three embodiments of the liquid carbon dioxide refrigeration system are disclosed and the disclosure states that the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 can be particularly advantageous when it is desired to achieve a cargo compartment temperature of about -20.degree. F. The disclosure states that liquid carbon dioxide is vaporized in a first heat exchanger, passes through a back-pressure regulator and then to a gas driven motor. The gas motor and an expansion orifice in a line leading to the heat exchanger are described as being sized so that the temperature drop of the expanding vapor is limited so that carbon dioxide snow is not created.
Tyree U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,562 discloses a liquid carbon dioxide refrigeration system including a backpressure regulator in the vapor line leading from a vaporizer to maintain a minimum pressure of, for example, 75 psia for the purpose of preventing the formation of snow. The major portion of the vapor stream is described as being expanded through one or more gas motors, passed through one or more additional heat exchangers, and then vented.
Tyree U.S. Pat, No. 4,100,759 discloses a heat exchanger described as being of sufficient length so that all of the liquid carbon dioxide turns to vapor and exits through a back-pressure regulator that is set to maintain a pressure of at least 65 psig in the heat exchanger coil to prevent the formation of solid carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide vapor flows through a gas motor drivingly connected to a blower fan that causes circulation of the atmosphere throughout the cargo compartment past the heat exchanger.
The systems using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant have not enjoyed wide spread commercial acceptance because of the tendency of carbon dioxide to solidify and "freeze-up" the system.